New models of care
• Today, The BMJ carries the news that NHS England has announced 29 geographical sites to spearhead the new models of integrated care espoused in the recent Five Year Forward View.
The story includes quotes from NHS England’s chief executive Simon Stevens, who said at the launch, “The NHS now has its own long term plan, backed by just about everybody, and today we’re firing the starting gun. From Wakefield to Whitstable, and Yeovil to Harrogate, we’re going to see distinctive solutions to shared challenges, which the whole of the NHS will be able to learn from.”
Changing Faces
• Can GPs do more to help patients with facial disfigurement? Anne Gulland examines this question as she reports on how a general practice in Leeds is working with the national charity Changing Faces to provide psychological, emotional, and social support to patients—courtesy of a £35 000 innovation grant from the city’s clinical commissioning groups. “Before the sessions I would never have believed that anyone could be interested in me,” says one patient.
Patients at healthcare conferences
• In this observations column, BMJ patient panel members Anya de Iongh and Ceinwen Giles offer suggestions for involving patients more in healthcare conferences.
They write, “The patients’ perspective on the success of involvement needs to be captured. While organisers may believe that they have done an excellent job of involving patients, that belief may not be shared by the patients. The only way this can be understood is to ask them what they think and seek to learn what could be changed.”
NHS efficiency
• In the latest of his regular data briefings for The BMJ, the King’s Fund’s chief economist John Appleby pores over the historical stats to assess whether the NHS can realistically expect to make the large scale efficiency savings that have been earmarked to meet the current funding gap.
Gareth Iacobucci is news reporter for The BMJ.